Past Events

The Scales of Star Formation – Insights from the UVDaniela Calzetti (UMass)
Over two decades of observations from the Ultraviolet to the Infrared with a host of space missions, including the HST, Spitzer, Herschel, GALEX, etc. …Read more.

Black Holes in Globular ClustersJay Strader (Michigan State University)
Hundreds of stellar-mass black holes form in the early lifetime of a typical globular star cluster. But, unlike the case for neutron stars, no bright X-ray binaries containing black holes have been observed in globular clusters, which led to theoretical predictions that most or all of the black holes should be efficiently ejected through dynamical interactions. …Read more.

Science Literacy in the MOOC EraChris Impey (Arizona)
In a world shaped by science and technology, the persistently low level of science literacy of the general
public is a cause for concern. …Read more.

Heavy Metals from the First Stars to TodayIan Roederer (UMichigan)
NASA’s Cosmic Origins program aims to address the question, “How did we get here?” My work addresses this question through three broad themes: the nature of the first stars, the formation and evolution of the Milky Way and Local Group, and the origin of the elements. …Read more.

Angular momentum in galaxy formation simulationsNelson Padilla (U Catolica de Chile)
In this talk I will present studies on the evolution of the angular momentum of galaxies in the EAGLE simulation where we try and identify the mechanisms that contribute to the growth of their angular momentum, including smooth mass accretion, mergers, and mergers with different degrees of alignment with the galaxy’s angular momentum. …Read more.

How black holes get their kicks: dynamical evolution and coalescenceSteinn Sigurdsson (Penn State U)
Recent observations have increased interest in the possibilities of a significant population of black hole binaries in the local universe. …Read more.

Diffraction-limited Mid-Infrared Imaging with the 23-meter Large Binocular TelescopeMichael Skrutskie (Virginia)
While the world awaits the construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope, Thirty Meter Telescope, and the European Extremely Large Telescope, the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) at Mt. …Read more.

Using the Stellar Halo to Probe the Assembly of the Milky WayMonica Valluri (U Michigan)
Over the next decade there will be an explosion of high quality kinematical data on hundreds of millions of stars in the Milky Way’s stellar halo. …Read more.

Astronomers now know that supermassive black holes reside in nearly every galaxy. Though these black holes are an observational certainty, nearly every aspect of their evolution — from their birth, to their fuel source, to their basic dynamics — is a matter of lively debate. …Read more.

The Origin of Titan and HyperionDoug Hamilton (Maryland)
Titan is arguably the Solar System’s most unusual satellite. It is fifty times more massive than Saturn’s other moons and is the only satellite with a substantial atmosphere. …Read more.